


Forged in Fire

by Persiflage



Series: The Adepts [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - World War II, Concentration Camps, Empath, F/F, F/M, Historical Fantasy, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Violence, Paranormal, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleportation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 02:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1153889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a parallel reality to ours, people with paranormal talents (telepathy, telekinesis, etc) are known as Adepts, and a group of them are imprisoned in a concentration camp near the start of what's soon going to become a world war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forged in Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tayryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tayryn/gifts), [Wolfsbride](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfsbride/gifts).



> I'm not really sure where this came from - a part of my inspiration was undoubtedly a relisten to the Big Finish audio 'Winter for the Adept' (which was where the group's name came from), but another part is definitely down to Judi Dench (I cast a younger Judi as Lin, the protagonist of this tale). As for the rest - put it down to my ever-fertile (one might say, over-active!) imagination!  
> (Casting information for the characters is in the notes for the series itself.)  
> EVERYTHING HERE IS MINE! (But I still ain't making a profit!)

"And I think we should wait a few more days." The speaker's tone was insistent, and gave the impression that she expected other people to agree with her. It was the tone of voice used by a schoolmistress when her pupils were being dilatory about their homework.

"I'll be all right. I can do this. We _need_ to get out of here. They could move us at any time, now that they know for certain that we won't work for the Fuehrer. The extermination camp has to be our next stop." This man was firm, his voice full of determination, but there was an underlying note of weariness, too.

"Val, I agree with Karl. I think it would be a very bad idea to wait any longer." The third speaker sounded apologetic as she agreed with Karl, but there was a note of resolution in her tone. 

"What is it, Lin?" asked Val immediately.

"The guards – they're full of anticipation. It's clear they're expecting something soon, something which they know will give them considerable enjoyment." Lin paused, sickened by the taste of sadistic pleasure she had been sensing from the minds of their guards. Neither of her companions spoke as they waited for her to resume. "I can't get anything clearer than that from them – you know how well trained they are in shielding their emotions. It's only because there are so many of them, all of them sharing the same feeling, that I've picked up even that much. Anyway, it's enough to make me believe that even though Karl's exhausted, we do need to leave here as soon as we can."

"Very well." Val peered at the others in the dim light afforded by the waning moon. "And we're agreed that we'll only invite Blade, Tiombe, Tamhas, and Henning to go with us?"

Lin nodded. "It's too risky to take more."

"And we'll leave tomorrow night?" asked Karl.

"Yes. We'll head to Malmhaug since Sweonas is still neutral." Lin couldn't help wondering if they would make it there this time, given they had failed to do so on their previous attempt. This was largely because Karl had broken his leg when teleporting them across the border from Germania into Danmark, meaning he couldn't run from the Germani patrol in the village to which they'd gone to get him help. 

Karl slipped away first in order to return to his bunk house before the change of guards; the men's bunk house was across the other side of the camp. Lin and Val didn't have so far to go, so they waited a few more minutes before moving. Lin recalled the way that Fate had brought the three of them together as they were preparing to attempt the border crossing. When Karl had been injured, he'd told the two women to leave him behind, but they'd been adamant that they'd do no such thing, and in the days that had followed, as they'd been transported back across Germania to the border with Polans, along which the labour camps and the extermination camps were sited, they had become friends as well as allies.

It wasn't only the Adepts who were being rounded up on the orders of the Germani high command: Adalwolf Hiedler had a hatred of many kinds of people – including those of differing religious beliefs, race, or sexuality. If he had his way, the world would become homogenous and dull, and she hoped that the news they were going to carry to Sweonas would encourage other people, especially those in neutral countries to get involved in this war against Germania. It might be her homeland, but she did not feel that she owed it any duty when its leaders were clearly psychotic.

She sighed silently, then followed Val back to their bunk house where they huddled under the thin blankets that were all they had to keep them warm against the bitter winter cold.

# # # #

The next day, Lin made contact with each of the four Adepts whom they had decided to invite to accompany them. She spotted Blade and Tiombe digging potatoes together, and after checking that there were no guards nearby, she approached them.

"Lin." Blade acknowledged her with a wariness that she could not blame him for feeling since he and Tiombe were Afri, making them doubly suspect in the eyes of the Germani high command: Hiedler had no use for the dark-skinned peoples, and the fact that they were Adepts as well was, for him, a mortal insult. Hiedler believed only the pale-skinned peoples had the strength of purpose to wield the power of the Adepts, and that the dark-skinned peoples were only fit to be slaves. Since Lin was a pale-skinned Germani, she could easily understand that Blade distrusted her.

Tiombe, however, was a telempath, like Lin, so she had known the truth of the Adept's words when she had declared that she, Karl, and Val were not spies for the Germani high command, and opposed their policies and practices with regard to those whom Hiedler despised.

"I've come to tell you that Karl, Val, and I are leaving tonight, and to invite you both to join us, and two others of our kind in escaping from this camp before we're transferred to the extermination camp."

Tiombe's eyes went wide and she stifled her instinctive cry of horror by pressing the side of her hand hard against her mouth. Blade's expression rapidly shifted from wariness to disbelief, then acceptance.

"Who else is going with you?" he asked.

"Henning and Tamhas. Between you, Tamhas, and Karl we should be able to get the seven of us out of here in one go, and since Henning is rather brilliant at pyrokinesis, he and Val should be able to take out the generator that powers the force field surrounding the camp – making it easier for us to teleport away."

"Where are we going?" asked Tiombe, her voice a little tremulous, but her expression determined.

"Initially, Malmhaug, the capital of Sweonas. It's Henning's home city, and he believes that once his government knows of the death camps, they'll abandon their neutrality and come in on the side of the allies fighting against Hiedler and his commanders."

"Why 'initially'?" Blade's tone was curious rather than suspicious, which Lin took as a good sign.

"Because I intend to go on to Angiloi and tell the government there about what my countrymen are doing. In fact, I want the world to know – maybe that way we can end this damned war before too many more people have to die unnecessarily just because some psychotic fool has decided he wants to purify the world's population."

Blade looked startled by Lin's vehemence for a moment, then he grinned savagely. "We're in," he told her, after a sideways glance at Tiombe, whose expression left no doubt about her own feelings at Lin's stated intentions.

"Good. Meet us by the stunted oak behind the latrines at midnight. If you've got any food stashed, bring it with you."

"We'll be there," Blade assured her, and Tiombe murmured a fervent agreement, and Lin gave them both a nod before walking away. 

She waited until mid-morning to speak to Henning and Tamhas, finding Henning, as expected, doing his daily workout at the back of the fourth of the men's bunk houses. She had already sounded him out two days before about the possibility of an escape, and he'd jumped at the idea as eagerly as she'd anticipated he would. Before the war broke out, he'd been teaching Physics at the University in Berline, the capital of Germania, and he'd resented the fact that his previous record had stood for nothing once Hiedler took power – all anyone cared about was the fact that Henning was an Adept who refused to serve the Fuehrer. 

Lin watched as Henning finished his press-ups, then she passed him a thin towel with which to dry some of the sweat on his face and neck.

"You're leaving?" he asked softly, and she nodded. 

"At midnight," she told him, speaking equally softly. "We're meeting at the stunted oak behind the latrines."

"Are the others in?"

"I spoke to Blade and Tiombe earlier, and they're in. I haven't spoken to Tamhas yet."

Henning nodded his comprehension. "Are we heading to Malmhaug, as we discussed?" 

"Yes."

"All right. I'll see you at midnight then."

She gave a quick nod of acknowledgement, then left him to resume his workout before going in search of Tamhas.

# # # #

Lin had to wait for some time before she could catch Tamhas alone to speak with him about their planned escape; before the war had come he'd been working as a doctor at a hospital in Munichen, and although there were almost no medical supplies available here in the camp, he still did he best to provide medical care for the Adepts. Most of them were unsuited to the hard labour required of them in the camp, having previously had sedentary jobs, and there were a lot of bruises, blisters, and strained muscles, and occasionally more serious injuries when the guards got bored and decided to pick a fight with one of the detainees.

The last of Tamhas' patients left, so Lin slipped into the small room which he used for his surgery.

"Hello Lin, I was just finishing up, but if you need me for something, I can fit you in."

She shook her head. "I came to invite you to join myself and a handful of others in getting out of here tonight."

His brown eyes widened in surprise. "An escape?" he asked quietly. Lin nodded. "Who else is going with you?"

"Karl and Val, Blade and Tiombe, and Henning." She watched him as he continued rolling up an unused piece of fabric that he had been using for a bandage. "I remembered what you'd told me about your younger sister," she added softly.

His fingers paused for a long moment, then continued until the fabric was in a neat roll. "Thank you, Lin. I am grateful that you thought to include me."

She reached across the scratched trestle board that served as his table and laid her hand over his. "You're welcome. We're meeting at the stunted oak behind the latrines at midnight."

He nodded, and she gave him a smile, briefly squeezing his hand, before turning away. It was almost time for the roll call and lunch, so she made her way to join Val and Karl in the parade square in the space between the bunkhouses. 

# # # # 

By midnight the seven Adepts were all gathered together by the stunted oak tree. Henning and Val were having a quiet consultation about how best to destroy the generator that powered the force field around the camp. Tamhas had a satchel slung across his back, which he told Lin contained his rudimentary first aid kit. Blade and Karl both carried satchels of their own which held the extra food they'd managed to purloin at lunchtime and dinner time, and a couple of bottles of water. 

"We're ready," Henning said in a low voice a few minutes after midnight.

"Very well." Lin got them organised into a circle, with Karl on her right, then Val, then Tamhas, then Henning, then Blade, then Tiombe on her left, so that the Adepts with the teleportation skills were spread evenly around the group. Henning began creating fireballs, and once he had half a dozen he and Val aimed them at the generator. As soon as the first two exploded and the pale green shimmer in the sky above their heads winked out, Val and Henning took the hands of the people on either side of them, and the group disappeared in a swirl of blue light, to reappear some eight miles away.

As soon as they arrived, in an empty field, Karl, Tamhas, and Blade sank to the ground, and Lin organised the others into getting food and water into the three of them to help them recruit the energy they'd used up in transporting the group. While that was happening, Lin slipped away from the group and began to reconnoitre the area in which they'd landed; she particularly wanted to see how far they were from any roads or dwellings.

When she returned to the group some three quarters of an hour later, Karl, Blade, and Tamhas were fast asleep, Tiombe and Val were lying down and resting, and Henning was on guard. Lin sensed him before he spotted her, which wasn't surprising given she was both telepathic and telempathic, and his mind was churning with emotion: there was relief that they'd got away, concern for the exhaustion of the other three men, and worry at her continued absence.

"Henning." She called his name softly and he hurried to meet her.

"Lin, I was starting to worry," he told her, his voice pitched low.

"Sorry. I was just scouting out our immediate environs. There's a village a little way to the east of here – it's only got about half its inhabitants, judging by how many empty houses I sensed, but that's to our good, as I managed to procure some more supplies."

She sensed his puzzlement and recalled that he, and the others, all believed her to have been a minor functionary in the previous government, before the Fuehrer had come to power. It wasn't strictly true, but she hadn't wanted to tell them the truth for fear that they wouldn't trust her. So rather than explaining what she'd been doing to Henning, she simply led the way to where the others were gathered, and set down the makeshift bag which she'd created from two blankets folded together.

Tiombe and Val both sat up as she unfolded the blankets and set out the supplies she'd brought back: three more water bottles, which she had filled; two loaves of bread and some thick slices of dried meat (both well wrapped in layers of paper), and some apples and oranges. She had also found some proper bandages and gauze dressings, which she felt sure Tamhas would appreciate having. She passed Tiombe one of the oranges, having sensed the younger woman's longing for one when she caught sight of them.

"Thank you." Tiombe's voice was low, but Lin could feel her intense gratitude.

"Enjoy it," she replied quietly.

Henning touched her on the shoulder. "I will resume my watch."

"Take some bread and meat with you," she told him. "You need to recruit your energy just as much as Karl, Blade, or Tamhas after creating those fireballs."

"Very well."

"And come and wake me in two hours so that I can take over from you. You also need to rest before we move on."

Lin sensed his bafflement increase, but he still didn't ask any questions, which was something of a relief.

"All right." He took some bread and meat, and walked away.

Tiombe settled down beside her brother Blade, her orange tucked carefully into her pocket. Lin took one of the blankets she'd brought and spread it over Karl, while the second she used to cover Tamhas.

"You need to rest, too," Val said, and Lin sensed the same puzzlement in her mind as she'd found in Henning's.

"I plan to," she said lightly, and came back to lie down beside her friend. 

# # # #

It took them two weeks to travel from south-east Germania to Malmhaug in Sweonas. While they could teleport over a distance of several miles in a single 'leap', the greater the distance travelled meant the longer it took Karl, Blade, and Tamhas to recruit their energy for the next teleportation. They therefore took the decision to teleport over shorter distances more frequently, with rest periods in between. 

Lin had gone from nominal organiser of their group to the de facto leader within twenty-four hours of their escape from the camp. She could sense that they were all curious to a greater or lesser extent about her ability to procure supplies, and temporary transport after she decided that it would be more practical and efficient for them to drive while Karl, Tamhas and Blade rested in the back of whichever vehicle she'd liberated.

Things finally came to a head on the fifth night after they'd left the labour camp. She had known, of course, that the confrontation was going to take place even before Henning and Blade refused to get into the jeep she'd found. She sometimes felt that the pair of them forgot that she could sense their feelings and emotions, although she hadn't bothered to remind them since it had worked in her favour.

"Henning and I have been talking," Blade told her as they stood in a group facing her after she'd swung out of the driver's seat.

"And?" she asked calmly.

"We think you should tell us how it is you're so good at finding supplies and transport for us," he continued. "If you don't mind me saying so, you're a bit _too_ good at it."

She looked up at him; every member of the group was taller than she was, and the men were all brawnier, too, even Tamhas, who was the most slender of the four men.

"Why don't you come out and ask me?" Lin invited. "You might as well – I am quite well aware of your suspicions, you know. I am a telempath as well as a telepath, in case you'd forgotten." 

Blade scowled and Henning looked uneasy. Lin didn't look at any of the others, although she could sense Tiombe's unhappiness at the confrontation, Tamhas' concern at the potential for violence, Val's worry that the others would abandon Lin, and Karl's desire to protect her. The latter was a surprise as she hadn't previously sensed that Karl felt so strongly about her; she'd known that Val was half way to being in love with her, and she'd done her best not to encourage her too much, not because she found Val unattractive, but because she was wary of emotional entanglement while they were on the run from the Germani authorities.

"Are you working for the Fuehrer?" asked Henning bluntly. "Because you behave like a spy."

She sighed. "I was an intelligence agent for the State Security Agency before the war," she said. "I refused to work for the Fuehrer – that's why I was trying to get out of Germania six weeks ago, when I first met up with Karl and Val."

"How do we know you're not still working for them secretly?" demanded Blade, his body language tense, and his mind full of anger at the possibility.

She shrugged. "Tiombe?" She looked at his shy younger sister, whom she knew could read emotions nearly as well as herself.

Tiombe unhesitatingly held out a hand and Lin took it, the two women staring into each other's eyes intently for several long minutes.

"Lin tells the truth," Tiombe said. "She hates the Fuehrer for what he has done to those Adepts who have refused to work for him, and she wants the world to know about the death camps."

Tiombe squeezed her hand before releasing it, and Lin felt a flood of gratitude for the feeling of trust that flowed into her from the younger woman's mind.

"Is that good enough for you gentlemen?" Lin asked, glancing from Henning to Blade. "Or do you not trust your sister's skill to know if I lie?"

"I trust her skill," Blade answered.

Lin heard the unspoken corollary to that, however – that he didn't really trust her, that he suspected her of somehow hiding her true intentions. She heaved a silent sigh, then gestured at the jeep. "We'd better get going."

The others scrambled into the back, all except Karl, who deliberately went around the front of the vehicle and climbed into the passenger seat. Lin sensed his defiance and determination, and was touched that he was choosing to join her in the cab, when he could stretch out and sleep more comfortably in the back.

As she settled into the driver's seat and put her hand on the gear stick, his hand closed over hers; he gave a brief squeeze before releasing her hand, then settling back into the corner of the seat to sleep.

# # # # 

The Adepts reached the border with Danmark twelve days after leaving the labour camp, and it was there that they ran into trouble for the first time: a battalion of Germani soldiers were camped on the outskirts of Aabenraa, the city closest to the border with Germania. 

Lin realised that her usual plan of scouting around for supplies and a vehicle was not going to work this time as there were far too many soldiers patrolling the city.

"We need a diversion," Karl said as they crouched in the bushes at the side of the main road into the city."

"What do you suggest?" asked Lin.

"That I take Val and Henning with me, so we can go and blow some shit up," he said, and she sensed a savage joy in his mind at the prospect. "When everyone starts running towards the explosions, you lot can grab what you need and meet us on the other side of the city."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked anxiously. 

"We need to do something," Karl said. "And this is the most obvious way of diverting a good proportion of the soldiers, especially if we hit more than one target."

She swallowed, then nodded, knowing that he was right, but wishing he'd suggested Blade or Tamhas be the one to teleport Val and Henning. She scolded herself mentally for that, knowing that despite her best efforts, she'd allowed him to become important to her. Ever since he'd expressed his silent support for her following Blade's confrontation with her over her former role as an intelligence agent, she'd found herself more drawn to him.

"Be careful," she told him, and he gave her a warm smile, and she knew that he was aware of her latent attraction to him even though she had believed she'd kept her feelings to herself.

She listened as Karl outlined his plan to the others, and was relieved that Henning agreed immediately. Val was less quick to acquiesce to the plan, and Lin was aware that Val was worried less for her own safety than for Lin's.

While they were all hoping to reach Malmhaug within the next two days, they still needed food and water to get them there, and Lin knew that Val understood that, and that she also understood why Lin was always the one to retrieve their supplies, but she was still worried about Lin entering a city filled with so many soldiers.

They had been eating regularly, but not very well as scavenging food had to be done so quickly, and it had become harder to find fresh food the further north they had travelled. They had all lost weight, and Lin couldn't help thinking that they weren't going to make the best first impression once they did arrive in Malmhaug: besides being thin and hungry, they were also badly in need of proper baths, and clothing that hadn't been lived in for two weeks.

Lin hoped that the authorities in Malmhaug would overlook the appearance of the group sufficiently long enough to listen to their tale of what the Germani authorities were doing to Adepts and others.

Karl, Henning, and Val moved further back from the road, then teleported away in a swirl of blue light. Lin, meanwhile, suggested that Blade and Tamhas get some rest while she made her way into the city to find some food and a vehicle of some description. 

Blade looked as if he wanted to argue, but Tamhas and Tiombe were both settling onto the grass, wrapping their blankets around themselves, so he merely nodded curtly, then sat down beside his sister.

Lin had gone less than half a mile when the first explosion occurred over on the eastern outskirts of the city. She continued to walk unconcernedly, and had covered another half mile when a second explosion occurred further to the south. 

By the time four explosions had taken place, Lin had managed to purloin some loaves of bread, a large hunk of cheese, and some oranges without anyone spotting her as everyone was too busy either gawping at the flames lighting up the night sky away to the south and east of the city, or else running over there to investigate. She took note of several military jeeps which had been left at the side of the road, but deemed it too risky to borrow one, then she spotted a flat-bed truck that looked like a much safer prospect. It took her only a few moments to hotwire it, then she scrambled up into the cab, swung it around in a careful U-turn, and headed back to where she'd left her fellow adepts.

She sensed something was wrong before she'd got half way back to the rest spot: Karl's and Val's minds were far more open to her after so long in their company than anyone else's, except Tiombe's, and all three of them were in a state of considerable turmoil. She jerked the truck to a halt, then scrambled out and hurried over to where she saw two figures lying motionless on the grass, the other four Adepts gathered around them.

Lin's heart seemed to leap into her throat when she realised one of the motionless figures was Karl, while the other was Tamhas. 

"What happened?" she asked urgently, deliberately pitching her voice low.

"Karl collapsed before he could bring us back," Henning answered. "Tiombe sensed us, and told the others, so Blade and Tamhas came after us. Unfortunately a section of Germani soldiers arrived just as Blade and Tamhas did, and the latter was hit by a soldier before we managed to get away."

"Where's he hit?" asked Lin, kneeling on the grass between the two men. She spared Karl only a brief glance as she assured herself that he was indeed merely unconscious, before focusing her attention on Tamhas.

"His right lung," Tiombe said softly, and Lin heard a note of deep sorrow in the younger woman's voice. 

She winced: there was little chance that Tamhas would survive, and with him injured, they were not going to be able to teleport again even if they waited for Karl to recover from his exhaustion. "We'd better get him and Karl into the truck," she said.

"Moving him is a bad idea," Blade said immediately.

"I know that!" Lin snapped. "But I will not leave him here to die. So unless you think teleporting him to Malmhaug is a better idea, we'll take him with us."

Blade shook his head, then turned towards Henning. "Let's get him settled," he said quietly. 

Tiombe gathered up their blankets and hurried towards the truck where she began spreading them out across the flatbed. Val offered Lin a hand up from the grass, then threw her arms around her. Lin hugged her back a little awkwardly: she could sense Val's relief that Lin had come back safely, as well as her hope that when they got to Malmhaug she and Lin would grow closer.

She wasn't sure how she was going to deal with Val wanting more from her; it wasn't that she found Val unattractive, it was just that she wasn't sure that emotional entanglements during a war were a good idea. She patted Val's back, then pulled away and turned towards Karl as Henning and Blade arrived to carry him over to the truck as well.

"We'd better get going," Lin said, "while everyone's still distracted."

# # # #

Lin drove for the rest of the night, and all of the next day, stopping only for an occasional twenty minute break to stretch her cramped limbs and give everyone a chance to do the same. Karl had recovered from his over-exhaustion by the middle of the following morning, to Lin's relief, and he joined her in the cab of the truck in order to leave more room for the others in the back. Tamhas clung stubbornly to life, but everyone knew that it was only a matter of hours before her succumbed to his wound.

They finally arrived in Sweonas at six o'clock on the second morning after Tamhas had been injured, and Henning rode in the cab beside Lin so that he could navigate more easily. They went directly to see the Prime Minister as she was Henning's cousin, and he was certain she would listen to him. It would also save a good deal of time if they approached her rather than going through official channels.

They found the Prime Minister, Astrid Nilsson, having breakfast in her townhouse, a short distance from the parliamentary building where her office lay. She was as astonished as Lin would expect anyone to be when Henning and Lin were shown into the dining room, but she made little fuss about her unexpected visitors, and immediately insisted on sending for a doctor for Tamhas, who still lived. The Prime Minister directed her housekeeper to accommodate the other four Adepts in the matter of baths and beds while Henning and Lin explained the reason for their arrival. 

Lin was aware that she was more tired than she'd ever been, despite some of the missions she'd carried out for her former employers, but even so, she refused to either eat or rest until the tale was told in full. It was only when she found herself swaying on her feet that she realised that sitting down was going to be a necessity, and it was the Prime Minister herself who caught her arm and helped her into a chair.

"You've done enough for now, Lin Kluge. You need to get some sleep, and bathe and eat. I will convene an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the news you have brought to me, and tomorrow you will come and talk to the cabinet members, if you are willing, so that you can answer any questions they may have."

Lin nodded, then allowed the housekeeper, Mrs Krause, to lead her from the room, and guide her upstairs to a large room where Val already slept in one of the two beds therein. 

"Do you want to eat, bathe, or sleep first?" asked Mrs Krause.

"Sleep, please," Lin answered, her voice slurring with exhaustion. She sank down onto the edge of the bed, then toppled sideways involuntarily. She was vaguely aware of the housekeeper removing her boots, and then she sank into oblivion.

# # # #

She didn't know until afterwards how long she'd slept (only that it wasn't long enough) when she sensed someone bending over her, and she surged up out of the bed, more asleep than awake, but ready to fight anyway. 

"Steady now." 

Lin felt her wrists grasped loosely and realised that it was Karl holding her.

"Sorry to wake you," he said, "but I thought you'd want to know straight away that Tamhas is dead."

She caught her breath in a gasp of sorrow and felt tears burn at the back of her eyes. "Did he wake again, at all?" she asked, her voice scratchy with sleep and unshed tears.

"No. But we found this in his satchel." He released her wrists, and she immediately missed the strength of his hands holding her, as he delved into the pocket of the borrowed jacket he wore. 

Lin took the envelope he'd removed and sank back down onto the bed, looking at her name neatly inscribed on the front.

"Shall I go?" Karl asked softly.

She looked up at him; she saw compassion in his blue eyes, and shook her head, then patted the bed beside her, wanting him near for the moment. He sat down beside her, not quite so close as to touch her, but close enough.

After a hard swallow to bring her emotions under control, Lin unsealed the envelope and read the brief note within.

"Tamhas has a sister," she said once she'd finished the note. "She's considerably younger than him, and he sent her back home to Scotia when the war started, but he didn't hear from her after she left Germania, so he didn't know if she had arrived safely or not."

"I didn't know you knew him that well," Karl observed, and she sensed a slight note of jealousy in his mind.

"Tamhas worked on your leg," she told him, "after we arrived at the labour camp, and I helped him, and we talked. You probably don't remember because you were out of it for three days while he worked to save your leg."

"Ah." She could sense his relief at this piece of information, and would have laughed if Tamhas' last request wasn't weighing on her mind.

"Lin? What is it?" His question was gentle and she sensed his desire to protect her, if he could. The idea was laughable, in a way, since she was far more dangerous an individual than he, despite her diminutive stature. 

"Tamhas wants me to go to Scotia, to see if I can find his sister, and tell her how he died. He – " She paused and swallowed hard before continuing, "He says he has faith that if anyone can find her, then I can."

Karl's arms surrounded her and he gently pulled her against his chest and, despite herself, she found herself immensely grateful. He held her for a long time without speaking as she sobbed quietly and when, eventually, she pushed herself away from him, trying to find a handkerchief so she could blow her nose and wipe her tears, he offered his.

"Thanks." She accepted it, and did her best to dry her soggy face. She knew he was going to kiss her before it happened, so she didn't push him away when he cupped her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to give her the sweetest kiss she could ever remember receiving. She put her arms around his neck and he deepened the kiss, then lifted her onto his lap, at which point she gently pulled away from him.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"I'm not ready for this. I'm sorry."

He hugged her. "It's okay, Lin. I shouldn't have assumed you were."

"Can we still be friends?" she asked.

"I hope so. When you go to Scotia, I'd like to go with you, if that's all right?"

"I'd like that." She slid off his lap. "Now I'm awake, I think I'm going to have a bath, and have something to eat before I sleep." She glanced at her watch and winced when she realised she'd only slept for two and a half hours, then she sensed Karl's sudden feeling of remorse and realised he must have caught the wince.

"You did the right thing, waking me," she assured him. "Where's Val?"

"She woke about half an hour ago, and was eating when I came upstairs." 

Lin nodded. "I'm going to have a bath, then."

He gave her a teasing smile, then moved towards the door. "I suppose I'd better leave you to it, then."

"If you wouldn't mind," she said, feeling a little amused at the slight feeling of disappointment she sensed from him; she was sure, however, that he hadn't really expected her to let him remain.

# # # #

Once she'd bathed, and dressed in the borrowed clothing that had been left on a chair at the foot of her bed, Lin made her way downstairs. She hadn't gone far before Val appeared, and Lin felt a wave of relief and longing from the other woman; abruptly Lin realised that she was going to have to address Val's desire for her before she left for Angiloi and Scotia. She felt a momentary resentment that both Val and Karl wanted to be with her, wondering why they had both picked her. She gave herself a mental shake, then allowed Val to embrace her, before they made their way to the dining room, where Mrs Krause was supervising a maid in clearing the table.

"Ms Kluge." The housekeeper nodded respectfully to her. "What would you like to eat?"

Lin took a seat and thought for a moment. "An omelette and some bread, would be nice."

"What about some nice strengthening broth?" suggested Mrs Krause. "You're much too skinny."

Lin gave a soft laugh. "Very well, then. Thank you."

"And to drink? Beef tea?"

Lin shuddered theatrically. "No, thank you. I'd love a cup of coffee, please."

"I will see to it," the older woman said, then turned on her heel and shooed the maid out of the room ahead of her. 

As soon as she was gone, Val took the seat next to Lin and laid a hand on her wrist. "I'm sorry about Tamhas."

Lin could sense genuine regret in the other woman's mind, but knew that wasn't the main reason that she was offering commiserations. Before she could marshal her thoughts to speak, however, Val continued.

"You talked, before, about going to Angiloi to tell the authorities there about the labour and death camps. I'd like to go with you."

Lin was spared the necessity of answering immediately by the arrival of Mrs Krause bearing a tray on which a bowl of broth and a large mug of coffee steamed invitingly.

"Thank you, Mrs Krause. That smells delicious."

The housekeeper beamed. "Don't let it get cold," she admonished, as if Lin were a heedless child, then she went out.

Lin dipped her spoon into the broth and blew on the thick liquid to cool it, then swallowed. She had to stop herself from moaning in pleasure as the rich taste washed over her tongue. She was aware of Val restraining her impatience as Lin took a few more mouthfuls, before she resumed their conversation.

"I shall be going to Scotia as well. Tamhas left a note for me asking that I try to trace his younger sister, whom he sent back home when the war broke out. Unfortunately, he didn't hear from her after she left, so he died without knowing whether she made it back safely or not."

"Do you think to put me off?" Val demanded, and Lin felt a surge of annoyance in the other woman's mind.

"No," she said quickly. "I'm just making sure that you're fully informed of my plans. If you wish to come with me, you need to know that I won't be simply making a brief trip to Angiloi. You should also know that Karl is going with me."

Val scowled. "Why? He only wants to tumble you."

"And you don't?" Lin asked, a little annoyed by Val's tone. The other woman flushed, and Lin continued. "You forget, I'm a telempath as well as a telepath. I know what both of you are feeling, which means that I know that Karl wants more than a mere tumble with me – just as you do. I'm not adverse to going to bed with either of you, as it happens, but at the moment that's not what interests me. For me, there are more important things to worry about – I consider it my duty to do all that I can to see this war brought to an end before too many more lives are wasted. I also have a duty to Tamhas, who might still be with us if I hadn't talked him into escaping with us."

Lin continued to eat her broth, aware of the mixture of emotions that Val was feeling, of which jealousy and embarrassment were the two most prominent.

"I'm sorry, Lin," she said after a few moments, and Lin looked up at the apologetic note in her voice.

"It's all right," Lin said reassuringly. "Do you still want to come to Angiloi?" Val nodded. "And can you accept that I'm not prepared to bed either you or Karl for the time being?"

She nodded a second time, then asked, "Do you really want to bed both of us?"

"I do. I like men and women equally, and I've had both male and female lovers in the past."

"Oh." 

She said nothing further as Lin finished her broth, and Mrs Krause came to collect the empty bowl, bringing with her a very thick omelette that Lin calculated must have used at least three eggs. There was a plate containing a large hunk of grainy bread, and a bowl containing a side salad on the tray, in addition to the plate holding the omelette, and Lin thanked the housekeeper with real gratitude.

"Where is everyone else?" she asked.

"Mr Henning went out with the Prime Minister, as he wanted to go and see his family. Mr Blade and his sister have gone for a walk around the city. Mr Karl is in the library." She finished setting the food down in front of Lin, then asked, "Will you be wanting a dessert, Ms Lin?"

Lin laughed. "No, thank you Mrs Krause. I believe that I might burst if I attempt a dessert as well."

The housekeeper chuckled softly, then gave her a nod before leaving Lin to her meal. After a few moments, Val announced that she was going back to bed, and Lin acknowledged her, feeling selfishly grateful to be left to finish eating in peace.

# # # #

The meeting with the Cabinet Ministers the following day required a full account of everything Lin and her fellow Adepts had observed and heard as well as done from the time each of them had arrived at the labour camp to the time they had arrived in Sweonas.

By the time the questioning, which had followed their recounting, had been completed Lin felt in need of a stiff drink, a meal, and several hours of rest. However, since she also felt in need of some solitude, she slipped away from the others as they prepared to go back to the Prime Minister's house, and instead made her way through the streets; she was heading towards a large park which she knew lay to the south of the city centre. 

She found the park, and a bench under a large oak tree, and she sat there for some time, thinking about the journey she was going to be undertaking in another two days. Astrid Nilsson had proposed to her Cabinet Ministers that they would fund the trip to Angiloi, and to Lin's surprise, the twenty men and women had unanimously agreed, and when Lin had thanked the Prime Minister, she had waved off Lin's gratitude saying that it behoved all neutral nations to join the allies fighting against the Germani so that this bloody conflict could be brought to an end sooner rather than later. 

Accordingly, Lin, Karl, and Val had been booked onto a flight from Malmhaug to Lunden leaving the day after tomorrow. They had also been supplied with funds to buy themselves new clothes, and Mrs Krause had given them the names of a handful of shops whose prices were not too extortionate. 

They would be attending a funeral rite for Tamhas late tomorrow afternoon; after some discussion with the Prime Minister, Lin had agreed to Astrid Nilsson's suggestion that Tamhas' body would be kept at the morgue until Lin had located his sister, but in the meantime they would hold the funeral rite so that the remaining Adepts could make their farewells to him. Blade and Tiombe had accepted Henning's invitation to make an extended stay with him, here in Malmhaug, before they attempted to return to their own family in Afrikaa. 

Lin felt a little sad at the prospect of their small group breaking up, but she knew there was no reason for Blade or Tiombe to join the others in making the trip to Angiloi, and Henning had every reason to remain in Malmhaug, although she suspected that once the Cabinet Ministers made an official declaration of war against the Germani High Command, he would be volunteering to fight – and with his pyrokinetic skills, he would be very valuable. She wondered if Karl would want to volunteer, somehow she thought he would; she strongly suspected Val would prefer to settle down quietly somewhere and forget all about the war, if she could.

As for Lin, she had every intention of volunteering to work with the Angiloi Secret Service, if they could bring themselves to trust her. With her knowledge of the Germani State Security Agency, not to mention the country itself, she could go undercover fairly easily – she might even get the opportunity to take down Adalwolf Hiedler himself, and that would undoubtedly be something worth doing. And if the Angiloi SS didn't want her, maybe she'd go freelance, and do the job anyway.


End file.
